Day 5 of the Tour of America’s Dairyland presented by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board took riders south along the Fox River for a new ToAD race venue, the Beloit Bike Classic presented by Beloit Health System.

Post-NCC, and nearly at the halfway point of the 11-day series, Pro Men and Pro Women alike seemed to have an unsaid understanding that today was a day of much needed rejuvenation to recover from muscle fatigue, draining humidity, and stiff competition.

All said, the racing was still solid. Midway through the Pro Women’s 60-minute contest, Jacqueline Parker (Cloud Racing) went hard off the front only to have the wind taken out of her sails after Joanne Kiesanowski picked up a prime, and kept on going. Joined by Jen Purcell (Colavita), the two formed a small, short-lived gap. Another cash carrot brought Diana Penuela (Specialized Colombia) to the front for a moment before Laura Parsons (Pioneer Mortgage- Yourkey.com) went up the road, with Gabby Durrin (Rapha-Focus) on the chase.

A reset brought Penuela ahead of the line along with Laura Jorgensen (Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers), Mandy Heintz (Fearless Femme-Pure Energy) and Andreina Rivera (ISCorp). A $200 prime with four remaining gave Tracey Cameron (Fearless Femme) some bank before she tucked tight with two to go. Anyone’s race with one to go and everyone together, Cameron teammate Tina Pic led the way with Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom), Sam Schneider (TIBCO) and Erica Allar (Colavita-Fine Cooking) on fire. Pic held on for the win with Schneider and Allar rounding out the podium at second and third, respectively.

Schneider keeps the Pink Overall Boston Store/Younker’s jersey in her closet, just two points ahead of Allar and five ahead of Pic. Schneider’s sister Skylar stays in the Green Oarsman Cat 2 Amateur jersey but not without her own head-to-head battle as she sits just nine points ahead of Jorgenson (Mellow Mushroom). Team TIBCO continues to dominate the Smart Choice MRI Pro Women Team Omnium competition.

The Pro Men’s contest started with 101 riders on the line including one, Mike Friedman (Team Optum), who raced with chocolate milk in his bottle – highly call-up worthy. Much of the race was a grab bag, featuring a mix of riders at the front with every lap. Notable was Spencer Oswalk (ISCorp) who launched a 10-minute solo flyer, reminiscent of former-ISCorp rider Alexander Ray (Hincapie Sports Devo) at 30 minutes in. Spencer was caught, Daniel Holloway (Athlete Octane) collected more prime money to stow beneath the floorboard, and then it was seemingly a friendly group ride with deep internal scheming no doubt.

Blake Anton (Team Clif Bar) and Sebastian Trillini (Hagens Berman) showed off their serious contender moves but the field just looked exhausted from their past four days. Nudged from hibernation at 10 laps to go with a $400 prime, Andrew Dahlheim (Athlete Octane) stole the cash then loitered for a bit as the nervous energy of Rahsaan Bahati (Bahati Racing) was palpable. Plenty of movement in the final laps, with Bahati driving hard before getting pushed back by Athlete Octane and Hagens Berman. Astellas and Champion Systems-Stan’s No Tubes join the massive metal-to-the-floor sprint as the crowd got to witness Justin Williams (Astellas) wind up with superhero force to cross the victory line. Athlete Octane’s Holloway took second for the night but remains in the Yellow Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board Overall Leader Jersey. Miguel Bryon was a new face on the podium at third. Athlete Octane has a stranglehold on the Smart Choice MRI Pro Men Team Omnium competition.

Tour of America’s Dairyland presented by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board continues Tuesday with a highly technical course at the Schlitz Park Criterium near Downtown Milwaukee before heading to Elkhart Lake on Wednesday for a celebrated road race at Road America.